Next time you see a teacher in the Bayshore, especially during these awful times when it’s the parent, not the board of education, who decides whether a child is to be in the classroom or at home any day of the week, be sure to thank him or her. And remember they are here because of their love for teaching, certainly not because of the lure of high salaries. Figures just came out showing that Freehold Regional High school is the highest paid school district for teachers in Monmouth County. And at $91,450 as the median salary, that after a 3.19 per cent raise, it is the only school in Monmouth County in the top 50 districts in the state to be pulling in that kind of salary. Next highest is 51st place Asbury Park, with a medial salary just over $83,000. Atlantic Highlands is a great place to teach in the Bayshore, as their teachers, with an 8 per cent raise, are paid a median salary of $80,560, making them the district with the 67th highest median in the state. While in Highlands, the teachers are way down in 357th place out of 657 schools. Those teachers get $65,595 as the median. And it took a 9.5 per cent raise to get them that high. Strangely, both schools send their students to Henry Hudson Regional, where the median salary ranks 278th across New Jersey. The teachers there who continue the education of kids from Highlands and Atlantic Highlands, had a3.9 per cent raise to bring them up to $68,866 as the median. Even stranger are the Monmouth County Vocational Technical Schools, including MAST over at Sandy Hook. There are five vo-tech schools under that board of education. And three of them, Hi Tech, Bio Tech and MAST place in the top 20 best high schools throughout the state! But their teachers rank 209th when it comes to median salary. They got $71,570 this year….and no raise at all. So it’s clear our teachers here go to their classrooms because they love their work, love their students, and feel they are making a difference. So thank them for it. By the way, the lowest median in New Jersey schools is in East Newark borough in Hudson County. Teachers there average $44,258.

Seeing Wanda R write what makes her happy is one of the three things today that made me happy. I’m a firm believer in positive thinking and taking aside a couple of minutes to concentrate on just three things in that particular day that made you happy makes you feel even happier. I encourage you to try it and share. Besides sharing Wanda’s happiness, I was also happy today that Father Jarlath said an extra mass this evening in case anyone who could not make it this morning had a second chance, and I took advantage of it. That’s because I have so much to be thankful for, not the least of which is that five years ago today I was in that 27 minute trial that cured me from cancer without pain, surgery, radiation or chemo, simply because I was diagnosed early and dared to try something no one in New Jersey and only 17 people in the nation tried. This marks the end of the trial for this wonderful procedure developed by ICE CURE, a great company in Israel. Look to Veni, Vidi, Scripto very soon again to see what happened in my five year and final checkup for breast cancer. A great story with a happy ending.

Seeing the sunrise over the ocean at Sandy Hook is a spectacular sight that would make anyone happy every day but even so, some are more spectacular than others. One of the things that makes me happy every day is living in the Bayshore where I can enjoy such spectacular sights. I’ll write about Carol Bucco and a side of her many may not know, but I’ll save that for another day. While I mourn her passing and will miss her dearly, another thing that made me happy today was hearing Courtney Grogan sing such a spectacular mass. I’m also fortunate, as are all the parishioners of OLPH-St Agnes, to hear Courtney sing every Sunday, but today, with several new hymns I had not heard before, her unparalleled Ave Maria, and the feeling she pours into her music can make you feel better even at a very sad time. I’m also happy today because I viewed another chapter in my Great Courses on American History I’m taking and learned more about why Thomas Jefferson collected the variety of books, in the variety of languages he did. We all profit from it centuries later, since he sold them to the nation after the British burned the Library of Congress during the War of 1812…At the time, Mr. Jefferson had the most comprehensive collection of literature in the nation!

Did you ever notice the more happy things you count in a day the more there are? And today was particularly happiness-filled, just like most days. To narrow it to three, my daughter, after a long day at her own work, and having a long drive home afterwards, still came to my home to do a couple of hours of favors for me, from climbing on ladders to store things to teaching me new things on the computer. I know how fortunate I am to have such generous children, and I appreciate them every day. Two: I always fill a jug I have with dog biscuits for my four-footed friends who walk at the end of leashes past my home, and the very thoughtful folks at the other end of the leash stop and let them have a treat. My jug was empty for a couple of days (didn’t get to the store!) and two of my furry friends, Misty and Jake, left me a personally signed note and a box of biscuits…how nice is that? and Three: my furry friend, Musky and his daddy, told me Musky’s plans to save other ferrets like himself…do you know ferrets can catch Covid? Musky…see him on Facebook.. My Name is Musky… and see his #This is how I wear fur and get a different perspective on things. You gotta love Musky, His book is perfect for children, but adults can get a lot of wisdom from it as well.

You gotta love Assemblywoman DiMaso. She’s a strong advocate of keeping our personal lives personal. While vaccines are most likely the right way to go…I say most likely because we don’t know the impact they could have on us after they’ve been tested a few years… but she’s a stronger advocate of the government not dictating everything we do on an everyday basis. So having to carry a card to prove we’ve done the deal when we’re sitting next to our friends at a baseball game or buying a hot dog in a small restaurant is a little much. Small businesses have had it tough enough during the pandemic, and they’ve been wise, learned a lot…lost a lot as well….and don’t need yet another mandate to check on people before they can spend money. Read my story in my trains and planes column to see how much more difficult it is already in order to travel. We should have such stringent regulations at the southern border. On a cheerier note, I love East Point Fitness on Route 36 on the Highlands line with Middletown, and love all the people who go there. Nice to see so many taking great (and fun) steps to stay healthy. But I laugh everytime I pull into the parking lot because all of the spots closest to the fit ness center are filled with all the people going inside the fitness center to get their exercise. COuldn’t it start in the parking lot by parking at the far end or at least on the other side? Ane back to that new bakery on West Avenue in Atlantic Highlands…that is only open weekends for now but will open more days soon…take the time while you’re in that parking lot to see the other great businesses there. Woodhaven Florist maks you smile just to see all their beautiful plants outside, and their shelves of books ready for the borrowing. There’s a hair cutter in there as well, and a dog groomer. It’s my bet this little mall is going to grow and become more popular…there’s still one empty store for rent.

Three things that make me happy

The Atlantic Highlands borough employees at the borough’s recycling center, always ready with a friendly greeting, smile a and helping hand. Debbie at Evolve Beauty Salon in Colts Neck who can squeeze in a quick hair style at the last minute so I can keep an important meeting and look well.

The tech staff at the Monmouth County Library who continue to provide exciting and educational programs, speakers, music and more virtually to everyone who visits WWW.MonmounthCountyLib.org

It has become a ritual for this wonderful group of friends who first met at the 6:30 Mass every morning at St. Rose of Lima Church in Freehold. They laugh about it now, because many of them only new each other from which side of the church they sat on and in which pew they sat every morning. Over the years they became friendly chatting before and after mass, asking each other for prayers for a particular event or illness or celebrating each other’s successes or major events. Then one day Mary Janwich, the organized member of the group, suggested they all meet for breakfast after mass. And so it began. Amost two decades ago. Even Mary’s grandson Gunnar and Axel join the group when they’re visiting their grandparents in Freehold. There is no longer a 6:30 daily mass at St. Rose, some of the group have moved to other towns further distant, some live in Pennsylvania and others spend a lot of time in Florida. But all look forward to the several times a year breakfast or luncheon where they renew friendships, catch up on news, pray for those not able to attend and laugh and enjoy themselves a lot.

Part of the group this year includes Milagros Martino,Gunnar Janwich, Linda Ryan, Muriel Smith,Axel Janwich, Judy Warenkiewicz, Don Sabatini, Theresa Campanella, Nick Spinelli and his wife, Connor Spinelli

Atlantic Highlands Borough sanitation and public works department employees immediately pooled resources to help residents clear fallen trees and huge downed branches from the area so jcp&l employees could work on restoring electricity to local homes and businesses.

Neighbor Brian Dogherty stopped power company workers and showed them a video of where equipment had exploded last night.

A Team of employees immediately reacted and began investigating to find solution for 96 year old old resident

Mama Warbler was very distressed. She had been distressed since early spring. Sure, back then, at first she was very proud and happy. Every bird in the neighborhood had come to visit her. Even the mourning doves, who usually didn’t fly too high, flew up to her nest in the highest tree in front of St. Agnes Church just to congratulate her and Papa Warbler.

Bluebirds came over from Highlands, and even the sparrows who nested along the edge of the North light in the Twin Lights sent her cheery greetings. That’s because Mama and Papa Warbler had hatched not three or four, but seven eggs. Seven! It was a record in the entire Bayshore! Very few warblers could ever lay seven eggs, everyone knew. They were Golden-Winged Warbler, best known for their beautiful song, the two pitched melody that sounded like a long bussing sound, only prettier.

Over the months, Papa Warbler was finding the biggest, juiciest and most delicious mosquitos and worms for dinners that the family decided not to fly south, but simply to move into the inner branches of a fir tree and feather their nest with, well, feathers, of course!

Everything was going along fine! All seven baby warblers were hungry eaters and learned to fly early. Then Mama Warbler started teaching them the several notes they would be singing for the rest of their lives. She told them of the happiness they would bring to little children playing in the church parking lot, or how the dogs walking past very well behaved on their leashes would look up and smile at them. She told them how the men passing along the avenue with their boats on trailers behind their cars would laugh when they saw their patches of yellow on their wings and the black around their throats. They would make everyone happy, bird, beast or human, Mama Warbler said proudly.

And that’s what was making both Papa and Mama Warbler so distressed today. Sure, six of the seven of their brood developed beautiful voices, all sang so well; Mortimer was especially loud and that was good because the golden dog in the yard on South Avenue could always hear him.

But Wendy Warbler, the tiniest of the Golden Warbler family? She couldn’t sing a note! She couldn’t even make her voice sound like a beeee, let along the bs, bs, bs it had to develop to be a warbler’s song.

“I just don’t know what to do,” Mama said to Papa, “ we have tried everything, The wise old owl in the tree at Hartshorne Woods said he couldn’t figure it out. The red cardinal that always went to that birdfeeder in the apartment across from the church said she didn’t know what the matter was. The crows merely cackled and said everybody couldn’t have a nice voice.”

Papa Warbler tired to soothe the mother bird and stroked her feathers softly. “Don’t worry,” he said, “ something good will happen. God wouldn’t let our baby bird not be treated like every other bird. He will take care of us.”

“Oh, that’s nice to think about,” Mama Warbler scoffed, “but why would He think of our little bird? Do you have any idea how busy God always is and how much He has to do?” Still, Papa chided, clucking a little right next to her ear, “Don’t worry. More importantly, think of getting all those chicks bedded down for the night. It’s Christmas Eve.”

So Mama Warbler sighed a sad sigh, but went about puffing up the leaves and the feathers to ensure the nest would be warm. Pretty soon, everyone was settled for the night, the stars came out to shine, and the moon, if you looked carefully, was smiling as if he knew something wonderful was going to happen.

At midnight, when the lights went on over in the church across from their nest in the tree, and people started coming to midnight mass, the music in the big organ high up in the church began playing. It wakened Papa Warbler and he loved the music so much he called to his friend the mouse, whom he knew lived high up in the windowsill of the choir loft. “Could you just open that window a tiny bit,” he asked. That way I can hear the Aves and Glories when the Infant is born.”

And so it was when the choir began to sing, their music was wafted out the window, filling the air with happy melody and hymns devoted to showing their love for the newborn Baby. The music woke all the babies, and Mama Warbler as well, and she called them all together to cuddle and hear the sounds of Christmas in the air.

All of a sudden, there was one more sound. Mama Warbler, knew it right away and to her it was even more beautiful than the organ, more beautiful than the choir, more beautiful than anything she had ever heard in her life. Mama Warbler could hear little Wendy, the quiet one, the smallest one, and she turned to look at her.

Wendy was standing proudly she fluffed her feathers and puffed out her chest. And out of Wendy’s little beak was coming the most beautiful, the most melodious bee bz-bz-bz- anyone had ever heard.

It was the magic of Christmas. Just as the animals can talk on Christmas Eve, so can God give a beautiful singing voice to a tiny little Yellow Winged Warbler nobody thought would ever be able to raise her voice in song.

The moon definitely winked as Papa Warbler looked up to the sky. Mama Warbler saw it, too, as she tucked herself under Papa Warbler’s wing. And she winked back. With a song in her hear and music in her ears.